The Cox Motorsport team endured an exhilarating finish to the 2016 Brian Green Property Group New Zealand Rally Championship where the final championship results were not finalised until the last stage of Coromandel Rally. It ended as a successful weekend for Sloan Cox and co-driver Malcolm Read with the duo securing second overall in the championship and Cox also obtaining first in the New Zealand Junior Rally Championship, his last year eligible for this category.
The main aim for Rally Coromandel was winning the junior championship while also pushing hard to secure second in the overall championship. From stage one the pairing pushed and set a fifth quickest stage time which put them in a good position to battle during the rest of the stages. However time was to be lost in the next few stages with changes to the Taslo Engineering Mitsubishi Evo X not working as well as the team had planned. Despite this, the pairing had a good gap on Lance Williams in the fight for the junior championship title and decided to focus on securing this title and ensure they did not get too caught up with the overall championship battle.
For the afternoon stages the team changed the Evo X back to how Cox was comfortable with, to try and hold or improve on their overall rally position. This gave Cox added confidence going into the power stage where crucial championship points were up for grabs. The pairing pushed hard in this stage and their work paid off with a second quickest stage time and a valuable four extra championship points. This stage also moved the pairing from ninth to seventh overall in the rally.
“It is amazing that after five rallies the battle came down to this one power stage. Malcolm and I have had a great year together and to finish with second overall in the championship and first in the junior rally championship was the most incredible way to finish the year,” states Cox.
A big thank you must go to the whole Cox Motorsport team for their continued support and hard work and to our amazing group of sponsors, as without them we could not have had this great year. Thanks to: Taslo Engineering, AJ’s Emporium, Signedge, Driveline Automotive, Ambrosia Restaurant & Bar, Plus Four Insurance, Rotorua Heating Solutions, Auto Tune, A Little Bit Sideways Photography and Total Oil.
The Cox Motorsport team now turn their attention to putting together a better package to win the New Zealand Rally Championship next year. However, in the meantime, Cox is looking forward to competing in the Taslo Engineering Hillclimb Car at the prestigious Ashley Forest Rally Sprint and the Leadfoot Festival.
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